3 Tips to Fight The Back To Work Blues

Posted: 19/06/2015 by
Cox Purtell

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string(4512) "I just returned from a glorious, 3.5 week holiday to Europe. Not only was it my first time in Europe, but I also had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two dear friends. It was a great trip, and it was over too fast!
After gallivanting through 6 countries in less than 4 weeks, I made the dubious choice to arrive back in Sydney late Monday night and head straight to work Tuesday morning.
We’ve all been there – the utter panic as you look at an inbox full of 500+ emails, the feeling that you’ll never get to the bottom of things, and the wistful regret that life isn’t a series of lovely dinners with a spritz in the gorgeous Italian countryside.
I think the whole concept of a holiday pretty perfectly encapsulates the issues that surround motivation – holidays are rewards for our hard work, which we look forward to and spend our hard earned cash on!
But holidays also disrupt our routines, take us away from the momentum we have painstakingly built, and can even set us behind in our work-based goals. The possibility of a holiday can motivate us, but getting motivated once you get back from a holiday can be a challenge!
My recent trip has taught me a few important lessons about holidays, motivation, and getting back into the swing of things!
Do Your Prep
Make sure you lay the groundwork before you go. That means getting your administration tasks up to date and letting key people know that you’ll be away.
Any key clients or contacts who are likely to be in touch when you’re away should hear it from you first! Let them know when you’ll be back and who best to contact in your absence.
This way there are no surprises and the number of general contact and enquiries will likely reduce while you are away. There is also less likelihood that things will slip through the cracks, as people will know to go straight to the next best point of contact.
Leave handover notes for your team – help them help you! And of course, put an out of office on your email (and personal voicemail, if applicable).
Collaborate & Trust Your Team
The biggest difficulty around holidays, for me, is the fear that all of my hard work might crumble in my absence – that my pipeline will trickle to a halt, my candidates will be neglected, and my clients will go elsewhere.
Not so! I am lucky to have an incredible team who did everything in their power to ensure that things were ticking along while I was away. If you have a strong team and a collaborative culture, trust that your team has got your back, and be sure to get there’s when they go on leave!
Fostering a collaborative environment throughout the year will ensure that everyone is happy to chip in when people are away.
Fake It Till You Make It!
If you find it easy to slot straight back in to “real life” after a long trip, you’re a better person than me. I struggle – I admit it!
For me the only thing that works is faking it until I make it. Having that extra coffee to fight the jetlag and diving into that inbox.
Prioritise and make sure to set small goals. For me, the first one is the inbox. First day back, clear out the inbox. Chances are that task will assist you to set your priorities for the rest of the week.
Don’t push too hard – you’re not going to be able to do 4 weeks of work immediately, so don’t try – focus on getting your crucial, high performance activities back on track.
Set an achievable goal each day and tick it off your list. That sense of satisfaction will soon have you feeling motivated to get back up to speed, saving for your next holiday!
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I just returned from a glorious, 3.5 week holiday to Europe. Not only was it my first time in Europe, but I also had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two dear friends. It was a great trip, and it was over too fast!

After gallivanting through 6 countries in less than 4 weeks, I made the dubious choice to arrive back in Sydney late Monday night and head straight to work Tuesday morning.

We’ve all been there – the utter panic as you look at an inbox full of 500+ emails, the feeling that you’ll never get to the bottom of things, and the wistful regret that life isn’t a series of lovely dinners with a spritz in the gorgeous Italian countryside.

I think the whole concept of a holiday pretty perfectly encapsulates the issues that surround motivation – holidays are rewards for our hard work, which we look forward to and spend our hard earned cash on!

But holidays also disrupt our routines, take us away from the momentum we have painstakingly built, and can even set us behind in our work-based goals. The possibility of a holiday can motivate us, but getting motivated once you get back from a holiday can be a challenge!

My recent trip has taught me a few important lessons about holidays, motivation, and getting back into the swing of things!

Do Your Prep

Make sure you lay the groundwork before you go. That means getting your administration tasks up to date and letting key people know that you’ll be away.

Any key clients or contacts who are likely to be in touch when you’re away should hear it from you first! Let them know when you’ll be back and who best to contact in your absence.

This way there are no surprises and the number of general contact and enquiries will likely reduce while you are away. There is also less likelihood that things will slip through the cracks, as people will know to go straight to the next best point of contact.

Leave handover notes for your team – help them help you! And of course, put an out of office on your email (and personal voicemail, if applicable).

Collaborate & Trust Your Team

The biggest difficulty around holidays, for me, is the fear that all of my hard work might crumble in my absence – that my pipeline will trickle to a halt, my candidates will be neglected, and my clients will go elsewhere.

Not so! I am lucky to have an incredible team who did everything in their power to ensure that things were ticking along while I was away. If you have a strong team and a collaborative culture, trust that your team has got your back, and be sure to get there’s when they go on leave!

Fostering a collaborative environment throughout the year will ensure that everyone is happy to chip in when people are away.

Fake It Till You Make It!

If you find it easy to slot straight back in to “real life” after a long trip, you’re a better person than me. I struggle – I admit it!

For me the only thing that works is faking it until I make it. Having that extra coffee to fight the jetlag and diving into that inbox.

Prioritise and make sure to set small goals. For me, the first one is the inbox. First day back, clear out the inbox. Chances are that task will assist you to set your priorities for the rest of the week.

Don’t push too hard – you’re not going to be able to do 4 weeks of work immediately, so don’t try – focus on getting your crucial, high performance activities back on track.

Set an achievable goal each day and tick it off your list. That sense of satisfaction will soon have you feeling motivated to get back up to speed, saving for your next holiday!